Job hunters are having hard times in China. They must compete with hundreds of their peers for a single vacancy. An offer often becomes a lifesaver to many anxious job hunters, especially those carrying the Hepatitis B Virus (HBV).

China has 120 million HBV carriers, or nearly 10 percent of the nation's population. Many have been frequently denied access to employment. According to a current report from the China Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control (CFHPC), 77 percent of 115 Chinese firms owned or co-managed by 98 multinational companies in the nation's 11 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, refuse to hire HBV carriers.

Some graduates have been denied work more than 20 times simply because they are HBV carriers, according to a citation by Su Chong'ao, general secretary of the foundation. According to the survey, most of the companies made their rejections out of fear of the disease's infectious nature. "It just proves that the employers lack basic knowledge regarding HBV," Su commented.

According to "Outlines of Publicity and Education of HB Prevention and Control" issued by the Ministry of Health last year, HBV carriers can lead normal lives. They do not pose any major threats; only mixing blood, sexual contact and birthing contact from mother to infant can pass the disease.

Although China has long publicized regulations and basic information about HBV, discrimination against virus carriers remains common. The carriers have virtually been rejected from positions ranging from companies to governments because these organizations have imposed physical examinations on their job applicants. But in terms of the guidelines issued by Chinese health authorities, HBV carriers are allowed to work everywhere but in the catering and nursery businesses.

The tests have frustrated many HBV carriers because many may have excelled in examinations but inevitably fail the final physical test. In April 2003, a college graduate, Zhou Yichao, attacked two officials in charge of government recruitment in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, killing one and injuring another. Zhou had passed every local civil service qualification exam, but failed the physical examination because he tested positive in HBV. This refusal caused Zhou to go temporarily insane and commit a crime that cost him his own life; he was sentenced to death five months later.

Yet the Zhou is not the only tragic exception among HBV carriers. They seem destined for uneven careers even with reasonable defenses. A year after Zhou's case, Zhang Xianzhu, a non-infectious HBV carrier, won a lawsuit against the city government of Wuhu, Anhui Province. The government was charged with discrimination against HBV carriers; they rejected Zhang due to his physical condition. The lawsuit took up the rights of hepatitis carriers for the first time and marked a milestone in China's legal history.

But the victory came out less sweet for Zhang. He had exposed a sensitive private issue to the unfeeling public and received even more rejections after the lawsuit. "The discrimination against HBV carriers is a social problem, which needs at least a decade to be rooted out," said Peng Guanghua, deputy professor from the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources at Renmin University, in a telephone interview with China.org.cn.

To enhance job equality, China issued the Employment Promotion Law on August 31 of this year. The law goes into effect next year. According to the law, employers cannot refuse job applicants simply because they are infectious disease carriers. But carriers should not participate in certain types of jobs regulated by the country's legislative and administrative bureaus before they are confirmed to be non-infectious. This law is far from the satisfactory for HBV carriers who expected clearer legislative rulings against job discrimination.

According to the CFHPC survey, many companies now prefer to find outwardly valid excuses to cover their discriminatory practices toward HBV carriers and to avoid legal hazards as well as public criticism.

Although obstacles remain, HBV carriers have not stopped their struggle. They have created non-government organizations and set up websites. To seek more support they have sent proposals to representatives of the National People's Congress to urge more legal protection. Right after the issue of the law, Southern Weekend, China's popular investigative newspaper, reported that HBV carriers should remain confident because the Employment Promotion Law is certainly not the last battle to be won.

(China.org.cn by Wu Jin September 20, 2007)